I graduated with BS Civil/Structural engineering in the US. Now working on my MS Civil/Structural engineering. I really think it has less to do with the cultural issue rather more to do with the language issue. You must know that engineering is a field that does involve a lot of writing/communication (technical reports and communicating with project managers and other design professionals). Imagine if you tried to do this job in the US or any other English speaking country with no solid grasp of the language? Imagine writing a technical report with only 7 year old level English? My thought is, if you want to go to Japan to work as an engineer, finish your schooling, start learning Japanese ASAP, get some work experience so you have something to offer them. After that maybe get a job in Japan teaching English while making it your top priority to master the language. I know it is possible, I have a few friends from Korea and China that moved here and are now highly proficient in English as well as completely competent engineers.